The invention relates to a construction element and more specifically to an element for a construction of support and/or carrier structures.
Robustness of a defence build for army troops in a terrain depends upon barriers which should effectively protect soldiers in the defence and make movements of an enemy more difficult and even prevent them, or at least direct them towards a pre-selected area. Barrier systems comprise a complex of natural and man-made non-explosive and explosive devices. Nevertheless for a long time no attention had been paid to non-explosive barriers though at the beginning of a military conflict, at the moment of an attack, they are important for protection of boarders and preparation of military resistance posts at directions of assumed advance of the enemy. Due to international activities of their opponents, use of explosive barriers, especially mines of any type and application, have been significantly limited. Thus an importance of barriers of the non-explosive type has increased. Barriers of this type could be divided in three basic groups, each of them having own sub-groups. There exist anti-tank barriers, such as walls, steep slopes, ditches, undercut trees and iron-concrete pyramids, anti-transport barriers comprising damaging up to devastation of existing roads and ways, ditches, undercut trees, traps, obstacles like barricades and finally there are anti-infantry barriers, especially various wire systems, undercut trees, horns and hedgehogs made of wood or iron. As experienced from military conflicts throughout the world and from results of tests, which have been carried out in specialised laboratories or within military training, the arrangements known so far become less and less effective because of improving parameters of the present military equipment and techniques. As an example there could be presented concrete pyramids anchored in an earth, which are no obstacle for up-today tanks. And what is also very important, all the known technology of creation of barriers demands lot of machinery, manpower and is very costly as there are used devices and elements having no other application but the military one. On a site an extensive application of earthwork building machines, mechanical loaders, trucks, cars or railroad wagons, to say nothing about hand engineer equipment, is always necessary. It is an object of the invention to create a construction element for building of barriers with higher efficiency when compared with the present ones, the element being suitable also for structures of different types of application, namely for civil ones.
The object of the invention is achieved and the foregoing problems are solved by a construction element in accordance with the present invention, the element comprising a disc-shaped central part with at least four legs extending outwards substantially radially with respect to a transversal axis of the central part and having longitudinal axes arranged in a plane perpendicular to the transversal axis of the central part, the central part having a face recess extending inwardly from the central part periphery between two adjacent legs, the face recess having a width corresponding to the central part thickness and the depth being equal from one to two thirds of the central part width measured along an axis of the face recess. The central part forming an integral unit with the legs and preferably made of concrete and/or ferro-concrete, may be provided with a metal jacket. Further according to the invention the central part comprise a first passage, the axis of which is parallel to the transversal axis of the central part, and further comprise a second passage, which is opening into the central part periphery walls and is perpendicular to the axis of the face recess. The distance between intersections of the axis and the face recess with the second passage axis and with the transversal axis of the central part equals the distance between intersections of the axis of the face recess with the second passage axis and with the transversal axis of the central part. Further improvement is achieved by furnishing each leg with skew surfaces, the first one of which being located within a plane perpendicular to the axis of the face recess and the other one within a plane perpendicular to the first skew surface. Still further in accordance with the present invention each leg may comprise a mounting passage, opening into both opposite side surfaces of the leg.
The construction element according the invention may be preferably applied as a separate unit or for assemblies, even assemblies having complicated forms, thus allowing for construction of all-purpose barriers meeting a wide variety of problems presented by particular terrain and climate conditions. The element provides high barrier resistance against military vehicles and other equipment, mobility even by low application of transport facilities, possibility of assembling only by manual power, little requirements upon storage room and long life-time of the construction accommodating the element(s). The element is suitable also for civil applications, such as walling of outside banks of river meanders to keep water streams within present banks, creation of barriers against flooding water, creation of barriers protecting bridge piers, construction of temporary bridges construction of temporary jetties on shores etc. Especially by sudden disasters like floods, when in a very short time it is necessary to reinforce damaged terrain or buildings in danger and thus prevent further damages the element should find an application.